86 THE XAUTILUS. 



Var. ulbida so named by my friend Mr. B. H. Wright, I wish to 

 offer a little further explanation, that Mr. Wright nor I have ever 

 found typical B. Dormani associated with spotless BulimuU vrould 

 weigh nothing against ]\Ir. Simpson's having found them near the 

 Manatee River. I hope in the not far distant future to visit that re- 

 gion and see for myself, but at the same time Mr. Simpson never 

 having found the light colored var. entirely remote from any typi- 

 cal Dormani wonld not prove anything against there being a local- 

 ity near Lake Helen where they are to be found at least 10 or 12 

 miles from a single specimen of well marked B. Dormani, and that 

 there is such a locality I am very positive. I think they were first 

 found about tliree years ago by my son Oscar B. AVebster and 

 myself. 



They are to be found in a small hammock of probably less than 

 200 acres, so isolated from any other hammock as to render com- 

 munication with any other BulimuU quite improbable. My own 

 theory with regard to them is that having had a common origin 

 with the B. Dormani in other parts of Florida, they have been so 

 long separated from the typical form, hundreds, perhaps, thousands 

 of years, that some peculiarity of food or situation has finally devel- 

 oped a tyjje of very transparent, light colored and nearly spotless 

 shells. These characteristics have become so constant that I have 

 never seen a single example of them that I should consider a good 

 representative of ^. Dormani. There may be other localities where 

 a type of similar shells, all so nearly alike, may be found but I shall 

 be surprised if any such is ever found. That the same type is to be 

 found in other localities along with typical B. Dormani vcould be 

 very probable, but though we have spent many days and weeks 

 looking for BulimuU among the hammocks of the St. John's River 

 and along the East Coast of Florida for nearly 250 miles, we have 

 never yet met Avith any such shells. The only white B. Dormani 

 we have found among the typical have been such as have evidently 

 become faded on account of age. 



Nearly two years ago I sent Prof. W. H. Dall three specimens of 

 albida of which he wrote in reply, " Those BulimuU without spots 

 are just lovely." W. G. Binney wrote me Sept. 3, 1889, with re- 

 gard to some of the albida that I had sent him, " The Bui. Dormani 

 in yours of Aug 29, are much more interesting to me for their long 

 narrowed form, than even for their marking. I hope some day to 

 figure them." Two years ago when I first showed some of them to 



